Academic Requirements - During the Season

Student-athletes at all levels of play, e.g. freshman, junior varsity and varsity, must conform to all CIAC eligibility rules. Eligibility for fall sports is determined by the number of credits received toward graduation at the close of the previous school year, not the fourth marking period grades. You must have received credit in at least four Carnegie units of work for which you did not previously receive credit to be eligible for fall sports participation. This may include credits earned during the summer. Thereafter, marking period grades, not semester grades, are used to determine eligibility. You must take and earn passing grades in at least four quarter Carnegie units and meet the academic requirements of your school to achieve eligibility. For additional information on academic eligibility, consult your athletic director, guidance counselor or school principal. Also, see Appendix B in the CIAC Handbook for additional information on eligibility.

Scholastic failures may not be made up for eligibility purposes in any manner until the next report period when grades are distributed. Scholastic incompletes must be made up within ten (10) school days following the date that student eligibility was determined for that marking period. Year-end failures may be made up through successful completion of local school system approved summer school courses in the courses failed.

A student-athlete has eight (8) consecutive semesters, or four (4) consecutive years of eligibility from the date of initial entry into ninth grade to be eligible for interscholastic competition. Students who are not eligible or elect to not participate do not preserve additional semesters for use at a later time. There is no fifth year of eligibility per se.

In-Season Rules

You are not permitted to start a sport during a season in which your twentieth (20) birthday falls. The season is from the first allowable play date until the posted date of the state championship in that sport. Student-athletes may not switch from one school team to another after the first scheduled contest in that sport.

During the high school season, starting with the first scheduled contest through the CIAC and New England tournaments, you may not practice or play with an outside team in the same sport. If you are a member of a golf, swimming, gymnastics, track and field or tennis team, refer to the CIAC Handbook for exceptions to this rule. Direct any questions related to outside participation to your athletic director or high school principal.